Year: 2009
Designer: All City Media

Beautifully simple concept. It reminds me of Vertigo and definitely echoes the madness inherent in the film.

It's been a very good year for design books with Five Simple Steps and A Book Apart releasing some of the best and most relevant titles. It looks like I'm a bit of a fanboy of both these publishers, but the truth is that both continue to release concise and digestible books unlike the 400 page titles of dry code and programming theory of other publishers. 

The big web design trend of 2011, cue heavenly chorus, 'Responsive Design', was well tackled by Luke Wroblewski and Ethan Marcotte, both leading the charge into 2012. 

Some books on the list were published in 2009/2010 and were put in a guilty holding pattern beside my bed, until I finally got around to them in 2011. Two titles are not specifically design related; but I thought that they would be of interest. I have read on other subjects during the year, if you think I'm a complete design obsessive; the Warren Beaty bio, 'Star' was very good if you're interested in the politics of Hollywood.

Anyway, hope you find the list a little bit useful.

Responsive Web Design
by Ethan Marcotte
A Book Apart

"Ethan Marcotte will explore CSS techniques and design principles, including fluid grids, flexible images, and media queries, demonstrating how you can deliver a quality experience to your users no matter how large (or small) their display."

The most practical book on the list. I loved this book, and I found it exceptionally useful especially as I was starting to create the design for Zartis. He writes in a clear and warm style, and his examples are always clear. 

Buy Responsive Web Design.

A Practical Guide to Designing the Invisible
by Robert Mills
Five Simple Steps 

"From how to apply colour to tell the right story, through to using the right words, this book details the basics of building great web experiences. If you're starting out in web design then this book will give you some valuable tools in your design toolkit."

A good read, with some interesting content with The Innocent Drinks case study being the most enjoyable section. The book is great for someone starting out in design and is also a good refresher for the jaded designer.

Buy A Practical Guide to Designing the Invisible.

The Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires
by Tim Wu
Knopf 

"As Wu’s sweeping history shows, each of the new media of the twentieth century—radio, telephone, television, and film—was born free and open. Each invited unrestricted use and enterprising experiment until some would-be mogul battled his way to total domination."

I found this fascinating. Some great anecdotes and packed full of interesting trivia. A good central argument too. For anyone interested in the digital and technological era. A book to reread.

Buy The Master Switch.

A Practical Guide to Designing with Data
by Brian Suda
Five Simple Steps 

"Brian Suda takes you on a journey through the basics and makes it easy to produce beautiful looking, accurate representations of data. He’ll walk you through how to visualize and design data in such a way that it engages the reader and tells a story rather than just being flashy, cluttered and confusing."

A real surprise. Having not designed any charts of late since moving away from print design, I found that Suda has fired my interest in the subject again. A book I may go back to if a project involves any data representation. 

Buy A Practical Guide to Designing with Data.

The Icon Handbook
by Jon Hicks
Five Simple Steps 

"This book is aimed at designers who already have basic vector and bitmap drawing skills. It could be that you want to create a simple, unique favicon, or perhaps you've been asked to work on a mobile app that requires them. It starts at the basics and takes you right the way through to being able to create stunning iconography."

Even though I use Illustrator on a daily basis, Jon Hicks has showed some new ways of designing icons. Excellent. 

Buy The Icon Handbook.

Designing for Emotion
by Aarron Walter  
A Book Apart 

"Make your users fall in love with your site via the precepts packed into this brief, charming book by MailChimp user experience design lead Aarron Walter. From classic psychology to case studies, highbrow concepts to common sense, Designing for Emotion demonstrates accessible strategies and memorable methods to help you make a human connection through design."

Aarron is a interesting guy with an interesting story to tell. His process is supremely practical. An important book for anyone who is thinking about the personality of their site, but has found it difficult to implement. Aarron cuts out the crap and gets straight to the point. 

Buy Designing for Emotion.

Mobile First
by Luke Wroblewski
A Book Apart  

"Its data-driven strategies and battle tested techniques will make you a master of mobile—and improve your non-mobile design, too!"

He poses a compelling argument for designing for mobile first, and I have taken on some of his thoughts when building the Zartis brochure site. Will become an ever more important book and touchstone in the coming years.

Buy Mobile First.

The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood
by James Gleick
Pantheon

"James Gleick, the author of the best sellers Chaos and Genius, now brings us a work just as astonishing and masterly: a revelatory chronicle and meditation that shows how information has become the modern era’s defining quality—the blood, the fuel, the vital principle of our world."

Indeed as the title says, this book is packed full of information and argument that is sometimes overwhelming, but still fascinating. Well written, well researched, in the mold of 'The Master Switch'.

Buy The Information.

The Genius of Photography
by Gerry Badger
Quadrille Publishing 

"The Story of Photography" examines the evolution of photography in its wider context: social, political, economic, technological and artistic."

Brilliant and interesting journey through the defining moments of photography. With beautifully reproduced images, Gerry Badger has many interesting things to say about the current state of photography. An inspiration for any photographer.

Buy The Genius of Photography.

Ordering Disorder
by Khoi Vinh
New Riders Press 

"Ordering Disorder is the new, comprehensive text on designing for the Web using the timeless rules of the typographic grid. It’s a must read for any serious interaction designer."

Having been obsessed with the notion of grid design, it was high time that an author tackled grids for the web. Vinh does a good job of conveying his passion or the subject, and it is practical too. Read my longer review.

Buy Ordering Disorder.

This was my bible for many years, a book I keep referring back to. Even though I design mostly for the screen, Josef Müller-Brockmann is still the master.

I had previously read Introducing HTML5 by Bruce Lawson, so I knew the main details and issues surrounding HTML5 implementation. When I heard Jeremy Keith was writing a book, I was excited, as I found him to be an incredibly engaging writer.

This book is a quick breakdown of the most important features of HTML5. What it isn't, is a thorough reference guide.

It is a great introduction for beginners, as it is brief and concise. I'm not entirely sure how much advanced HTML5 users will get out of it, although I did learn things afresh.

Keith's brand of humour and cultural references are never laboured or over bearing and helps keep the reader on his side.

A criticism I do have is his repeated references to Modernizr, a JavaScript library for browser feature control, an aspect I find strange given Keith's philosophy on pairing down complexity.

If you need an in-depth look into HTML5 get Introducing HTLM5, but for a quick overview with some unique opinions, HTML5 for Web Designers is a great start.

Find out more at A Book Apart.

 

Tom Southwell was the production illustrator on Blade Runner, one of the most visually stunning films ever made. He created some amazing pieces under the direction of Ridley Scott. Scott being a former Art Director, kept a close eye on everything Southwell did.

Southwell designed many of the logos, neon signs and minutiae of the film. Most of the designs that were developed are hardly seen, but they really do contribute immensely to the overall look of the film.

Imaginary Landscape, John Cage. Part of the Music Pioneers Series.

Year: 2008

Designer: Akiko Stehrenberger

This close up, (is it real or is it photorealism?) of Naomi Watts face creates an indelible impression and her fear is palpable. The off center and odd framing of her face adds to the rising tension on repeated viewings. Strangely beautiful.

Year: 1927

A true classic of poster design. The colouring is beautifully done and I love the placement of the central characters.